Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
by Shiki - Seeker of Dankness
Summary: "Well," he cracked his knuckles, "I'll teach you some. If you're going to impress my daughter, you'll have to know that, at least." He smirked. "Not that that's permission, of course." Shinji's face was as red as the Soviet Union army. "It-it isn't like that! I don't like her th-that way!" "Are you saying you don't find her attractive? Insulting a girl, to her father's face."
1. A New Thesis (FINAL: A Prolouge)

"He's-he's alive!"

"Ugh..." Harry groaned. His head was pounding. "Be quiet, I'm trying to sleep..." His eyes flashed open to reveal a rather unfamiliar ceiling. He sat up, wincing as an IV pulled at his skin.

"Hey, calm down. You're fine." _Japanese? Hmm._ Being a magical polyglot had benefits, he supposed.

Switching to the Far Eastern language, he turned to the voice, which revealed a woman who, from her clothes, was probably a nurse. "Where am I?"

"Nerv-HQ."

"Nerv...You aren't connected to Gehrin-Hakone by any chance?"

"Gehrin was reorganized into Nerv, actually. Do you remember your name?"

"Harry...Harry Potter. I was a researcher at Gehrin-London."

"Alright." She wrote something down. "How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, actually. I'm a pretty fast healer, once I come to."

"I noticed. Would you be willing to talk to someone, to verify your identity?"

"I suppose."

She pushed a button on her clothes, before speaking. "He's all good." _What is this, Star Trek?_

A minute of silence passed, before a click of heels pattered down the hall outside. "Dismissed," spoke an unfortunately familiar voice.

"Gendo Ikari..."

"You claim to be Harry Potter, no?"

"I do. I assume you recognize your own _best friend_."

"I was drunk, as you well know." The man shook his head. "You'd want to know the date, I imagine. Nerv was officially mobilized for action yesterday."

"I slept that long?" He sighed. "Of course I did. How's my family?"

"Not well. I had them relocated to Germany, since Hadrian's Wall broke." Not the Roman one, of course. But humans were nothing if not sentimental, so the wall kept back the ocean rather than barbarians. "Your daughter's memories of you were masked, as you asked. Unfortunately, the Contact Experiment for Unit-02 went wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Her soul, along with most of her sanity, was absorbed into the Evangelion. She later hung herself."

Harry's eyes unfocused, as he forced his composure in line. "As Seele predicted, I suppose. How is Anwen?"

"She goes by Asuka, now - Asuka Langley-Sohryu."

"Langley...as in the German UN bureaucrat?"

"He was put in charge of Nerv-Berlin. He would act as Asuka's father in exchange for my recommendation." His nose twitched, one of the man's few tells. "Horrible choice, I can tell you, but not many are bachelors wealthy enough to mask Seele's suspicion. Anyway, Asuka isn't in a good place right now, as you might guess, and all our psychologists - as usual - are busy."

"Of course." Harry sighed. "Where's my wand?"

"Here." The man handed over the incredibly valuable tool. "I had to confiscate it, so nobody took it."

Harry gave a lazy wave, conjuring up an already-soaked towel. "At least my magic hasn't gotten any worse..." He grabbed the towel, washed his face off, then vanished it. He stood up, and conjured up a kimono, the only Japanese clothes he could remember.

"Harry, you look ridiculous."

* * *

"So you're the Third Child, pilot of Unit 01."

"Uh...yes, yes sir."

"How appropriately... underwhelming. Shinji Ikari, no?"

"Yes, Mr..."

"Potter, Harry Potter. You don't have the demeanor of a warrior, Young Ikari."

"Uh..."

Harry smirked. "I remember what it was like, fighting a war I didn't want...but my days on the front line are finished. Yours, however, are not."

"Uh, Mr. Potter, do you work with my father?"

"I did, and I imagine I will again. At the moment, though, I appear to be a freelance therapist." Harry fell into that pose that Gendo had totally stole from him. "Tell me, Shinji, what do you know of Yui Ikari?"

"My mother...? I don't know much of anything. She died when I was little."

Harry snorted. "Yui had a tendency to do that."

"You...knew my mother?"

"Her best friend was my wife, yes. You wouldn't know, though. They were like oil and water, those two. Your father and I appeared closer, and...well, you've met Gendo Ikari."

Shinji smiled a little at that.

Harry leaned his head back. "Just you wait until you meet my daughter, though. She's...a personality, or so I've heard."

* * *

"The United Nations Pacific Fleet...certainly a large escort for one Eva. Ultimately useless, however."

"Useless? The pride of the UN forces? Really?" The admiral's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"The AT Field is much to powerful for something simple like bullets."

"I don't believe in all this AT mumbo-jumbo. In all my time, I've never seen something invincible to sheer firepower."

Harry snorted. "Catch." He tossed over his pistol. "Shoot me."

After a brief look to make sure Harry was serious - he was - he did. Of course, the bullet bounced off a strategically placed Protego. "Proof?" Harry walked off, not waiting for a reply. "Come along, Lieutenant, Shinji."

"What was that!" asked Katsuragi, as soon as they were out of earshot.

"That, Major, was magic. The study of it, and its connection to AT Fields, was the purpose of Gehrin-London, also known as the Department of Mysteries. Anyway, we have people to see. Could you radio on the..." he searched his memories for a brief moment, trying to remember Gehrin's usual frequency, "7th level to all Nerv-connected individuals to report to the bow fifteen seconds ago?"

"Yes, sir." She did have military training, it seems.

Within a few minutes, two people, a man and a young teen girl, met them. "Mr. Kaji, Miss Langley-Sohryu." He spoke the dual surname with a bit more venom than intended.

Ryoji Kaji looked at him, his head tilted ever so slightly. "Are you...Harry Potter?"

"At your service."

The girl - his daughter - turned towards Kaji. "Who's he?"

"Harry Potter was the foremost researcher on what makes you Eva pilots unique - the Marduk Institute actually was dedicated in his name. More importantly for you, though, he was your mother's first husband." The man had a subtle telling look in his eyes. _So he knows_.

"So you left my mother?" There was a tranquil fury to the girl, which Harry knew meant trouble.

"After a fashion...I died, actually." At her expression, he added, "I was only mostly dead, which means I was still somewhat alive. I only returned to the world of reality about a week ago."

Her eyes softened a tiny bit, but her body language did not. "So you knew her?"

"Fairly well, I'd like to think. We went to school together. But…" He gazed out over the ocean. "Now isn't the time. An Angel is coming."

* * *

"Harry?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Yui wants you to call. Apparently there's some emergency."

"Some emergency? What, did Gendo lose a hand again?"

"I doubt it...but it sounded urgent."

"Alright." He dialed up the woman, and it was picked up on the first dial.

"Harry?"

"Hey, Yui. What's up?"

"You remember Dr. Katsuragi, right?"

"The crazy guy who went on about the Super Solenoid Reaction?"

"That's the one. He was on an expedition to Antarctica, as you've probably heard. They found and awoke the First Angel."

"You mean..."

"Yep, the one from the Dead Sea Scroll Apocrypha."

Harry cursed. "Let me guess. The Land Down Under went kaboom."

"You have about three hours until the British Isles are drowned."

Harry pulled a paper out of his desk, wrote a bit, then stamped it. "Alright. As of now, Unspeakable Granger now has Emergency Clearance. Direct any more through her." He hung up.

A quick charm broadcasted his voice throughout the Ministry of Magic. "Emergency! This is a Code Merlin! I repeat, a Code Merlin! All employees, battle stations!"

Within a brief minute, Harry, along with the Minister, the Supreme Wugwump and a few other department leaders were gathered in first's office. "Gentlemen, the possible end of humanity itself is upon us."

"What do you mean? There hasn't been Dark activity in ages."

Harry transfigured the top of his desk into Antarctica, complete with a First Angel and the Katsuragi Expedition. "I just recieved notification from a trusted source that an Antarctic expedition discovered a beast called the First Angel, or Adam. They did...something, we aren't sure what as of yet, that caused it to go ballistic. You all have heard of the Hydrogen Bomb, I presume?" It was standard for Ministry Personnel to be briefed on Muggle weaponry. "The Angel was made of much heavier elements, in all likelihood, and it was much bigger. Antarctica - the largest continent - is no more."

"Merlin..." someone muttered.

"That's an understatement. If we don't take action, everybody in the British Isles will drown."

The Minister's eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"Dumbledore's last."

Percy Weasley smirked. "I've no objections."

"Wait...what do you mean?"

"Dumbles, being the paranoid man he was, left a plan for erecting a shield around the Isles. It isn't permanent, but it'll allow us to evacuate." He paused. "Unfortunately, as I'll be erecting it, I won't be able to leave, not until it collapses."

"So..."

"I'll need you all to organize evacuation." He smirked, standing up. "Godspeed, ladies and gents. We've got people to save."

* * *

Harry was chanting slowly. Unspeakables to the cardinal directions were doing the same, noble souls who volunteered their lives. And they don't know I'm not sacrificing mine... Functional immortality was a pain sometimes. "Kupulumutsa miyoyo...yathu ndi osathandiza kupulumutsa ana...athu aamuna ndi akazi mdima waima zowawa...ndi imfa mutipulumutse kwa chitetezo tsopano." Over and over the chant rang, like a song.

 _The cruel Angel's song_...Harry thought, feeling clever, though he wasn't sure why. "...tsopano." He felt a tug on his magic as the barrier was finally erected. He rose to his feet, and spoke to the men and women around him. "Ladies, Gents, thank you. It's done."


	2. FINAL: Fate and Joy (Gods and Children)

"Yui, Gendo. It's been a while since we spoke in person."

Yui grinned. "We've each been stuck at our respective facilities, haven't we."

"Yup. But you know what they say, two brains are better than one."

Yui laughed, while Gendo's face showed slight confusion. "It's a pun, honey. Gehrin means brain, and..."

"Ignore the non-polyglot at the table, Mrs. Ikari. It's his fault for being lazy." It said a lot that Harry could call one of the twenty or so most powerful people in the world lazy without a hint of trepidation.

"That isn't nice, Harry." His wife decided to come to the rescue of poor, innocent - of which Gendo was really neither - lifeforms, apparently.

"Alright, dear. I'll stop."

Gendo coughed something that sounded suspiciously like "henpecked." He got slapped by Yui.

Harry put his hand to his brow, before sighing. "Let's get back on topic. So, how is Project E coming along?"

"Well enough. We've had a few setbacks, but not any major ones."

"I've seen the reports. What about staffing for the future? We've only got a decade or so until the Angels arrive."

"Naoko's daughter, Ritsuko, is shaping up to be as, if not more, brilliant than her mother. She'll be right about the right age. Katsuragi's girl, if she has the hate of Angels we forecast, would also make a good leader." Gendo drummed his fingers against the table. "I might be able to get them to associate with the son of the late head of the Koanchosa-cho."

"Which one, Kaji or Ogata?"

"Kaji. That kid'll doubtless have a push to uncover as much as he can. His old man sure did." The annoyance in Gendo's tone was obvious.

Harry snorted at that. "True enough. That would be an curious combination, to say the least."

"Indeed. How are your studies on Eva pilots coming?"

"Decently well. It's connected to magic, but...it's complicated. Naoko should have any information you need, however."

"And the creation of a hybrid?"

"Derived from an ancient ritual to force a soul to adopt a new self-image, namely that of a person, I was able to assemble a plan that should work, theoretically."

Yui shuffled some papers. "This was used by...Voldemort?"

"It was. Flesh from the source, flesh from one devoted to success, flesh from one against it. These three together apparently affect the soul. He did it to return from the dead."

"Hmm. Powerful. So, if I took your saliva, along with the other ingredients and some LCL, and drew a soul from Lilith, this would create a clone of you?"

"A young one, I think, but yes. Please don't do it."

"Wasn't planning to. How's Anwen?"

"She's doing well. Brilliant, that girl. Shinji?"

"He's fine, I suppose. He's a lot like his mom, even already."

* * *

The night sky demanded Harry sing Beatles, as it did to any proper Brit. Of course, his lack of musical prowess had a damper on any such demand. Instead, he gazed up at the moon, the celestial orb shining brightly above the crashing blue waves.

"Miss Langley-Sohryu."

He could hear the girl jump at least a metre. She wasn't exactly subtle.

"How-how-"

"How did I know you were there?" He smirked. "Magic." Technically true. "What do you need?"

"I had some questions."

"I imagined as much. Ask away."

"My mom and you went to the same school, you said. What was it called?"

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She was silent for a moment. "You can't actually think I believe that. I've read her records."

"I bend the truth, sure, but I never lie, and rarely kid. I am entirely serious." He pulled out his wand and conjured a cup of water. "Try it."

She did. "It's...real."

"Of course it is." He laced his hands back behind his head. "Hogwarts - the pride of Magical Britain. In case you're curious, the reason it's not in her records is because they were faked."

"They were...faked?"

"Indeed. My will implored her to hide herself at all costs. I...had quite a few enemies, you see."

She was silent. "Magical enemies?"

"Unfortunately."

"If...Mom was magical, shouldn't she have been able to defend herself?"

"Yes, more or less. However, my daughter was helpless."

"Daughter...you mean I had a big sister?"

"After a fashion, I suppose."

"That isn't a dogey answer."

"I walk amongst gods of man. One learns to speak as such."

* * *

"Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, Shinji?"

"She's your daughter, isn't she."

He nodded. "Don't tell her. I'd like to get close to her without her blaming it on that."

"Hmm." The boy glanced at his watch. "Are you hungry? I'll cook."

"You're a cook?" Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Do you know much in the way of European cuisine?"

"Not really, sorry."

"Well," he cracked his knuckles, "I'll teach you some. If you're going to impress my daughter, you'll have to know that, at least." He smirked. "Not that that's permission, of course."

Shinji's face was as red as the Soviet Union army. "It-it isn't like that! I don't like her th-that way!"

"Are you saying you don't find her attractive? Insulting a girl, to her father's face. Intelligent."

Shinji's head was twitching in every direction, looking for an out. "I'm sorry!"

Harry's laugh boomed. "I'm just messing with you, kid. C'mon. In the kitchen, all are friends."

* * *

"So what's this called?"

"Beef Wellington. Rather delectable. Asuka's mom are untold amounts of it when she was pregnant."

"You're very persistent."

"I've been told." Harry looked around. "This building is disgusting."

"Misato owns it, and she's...not clean."

"That's an understatement." He waved his wand a bit, and suddenly the room was organized. "Ah, cleaning charms. Such majesty!"

At that moment, the doorbell rang. "Yes?"

Misato opened the door. "Sir...what are you doing in my apartment? Why is it so clean?"

"I'm cleaning, and helping your ward over here with dishes that are mostly lost to the sands of time."

She breathed in through her nose. "Yum. Well, you'd want to know that Asuka is moving in."

"Mm. Alright. Well, you've all got it well in hand, it seems. I'll be next door if you need me."

* * *

"Gendo."

"Harry."

"Your pilots are doing well. How are things with Seele?"

"As usual. The old men continue to cause trouble for our scenario, but nothing major."

"Mm. Yui is in 01, isn't she?"

"She is...body and soul."

"The Human Instrumentality Project...finally. Months...weeks left."

"Indeed."

* * *

"Harry James Potter."

"Chairman."

"You've been awakened."

"I have. I've lost too many years in the void of death."

"I presume you are still committed to our goal?"

"I am."

"We lost the representative of Britain while you slept."

"We shall be reunited with him in Complementation."

"True."

* * *

"Tabris."

"Respectfully, sir, I prefer my Lilin name."

"Kaworu Nagisa."

"Thank you, sir."

"A god dancing like a puppet. Such hubris."

The boy smiled. "Should I dance as something else?"

"No, I suppose not. Why, child..." he paused. "Why do you fight?"

He laughed. "The question, no? The same reason you do, I suppose."

Harry scoffed. "Then tread carefully, child. The edge of a cliff is a dangerous place."

* * *

"Excuse me, sir, could I ask you a question?"

"Ask away, Miss. Langley-Sohryu."

"Could you tell me more about your daughter?"

"Sure." He leaned back in the lazy chair he occupied in the Katsuragi household. "You look a lot like her, which, I suppose, is unsurprising. She also looked a lot like my mother. I didn't know her very well, as she was only three when I died, but," he smiled, "every day, when I returned from work, she would run up to me, and give me a big hug."

"Is she...still alive?"

"I believe so."

"Why didn't my mom ever mention her?"

"Magic would be my guess. She probably hid most of her memories of the two of us with magic."

"What is this magic you keep talking about?"

"A oft-hereditary skill in which the soul allows you to modify reality with the usage of energy, generally gathered from respiration."

"You mean it's like the-"

"AT Field, yes. A touch of divinity." He hummed. "Catch." He tossed the girl his old phoenix-feather wand. "Give it a wave."

She did, and sparks flew out. "You see? Actually, with your parentage, I'd be amazed if you couldn't use magic."

She was silent. Then the Angel alarm went off. "Such timing." He smiled. "Would you like a ride to HQ?"

* * *

"Did you know that tomorrow is the twelve-hundred fifteenth anniversary of the re-establishment of the Roman Empire in the West?"

"Are you always so serene, sir?"

"Would you rather I be like my youth? I was...a bit mopey back then."

Misato, without a hint of subtlety, glanced at Shinji, before shaking her head. "So, sir, you know the Commander?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "Call me Harry at the dinner table. But yes, I do. I'd venture to say I'm the closest thing he has to a friend."

She snorted. "You worked for Gehrin, right?"

"I was head of Gehrin-London."

"That...was a thing?"

"Mm."

"I thought England was submerged in Second Impact."

"It was. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been interesting enough to justify a Gehrin facility."

Misato opened her mouth, before closing it again. "May I ask what you did there?"

"Mm. I ran the precursor to the Marduk Institute. I am one of the...ten or so people on Earth that really understand why you Eva pilots can do what you do."

"Who are the others?" asked Shinji.

"I can't tell you that."

"Oh! Sorry..."

"But I can tell you who might know." He winked. "An old classmate, friend and employee of mine, Hermione Granger...or is it Weasley now?...Hmm. Gendo, of course. The Human Instrumentality Committee, as they know all our research...hmm. I don't know who else."

* * *

Asuka was sitting at her computer. "Hermione Weasley" sat in the search bar.

"She's a metaphysical biologist? That makes sense, I guess." She found a phone number, and went to a park to make a call without idiot Shinji listening in.

"Weasley Household. Who is this?"

"This is...Asuka Langley-Sohryu. I had some questions for Dr. Hermione Weasley."

"Oh, alright. I'll get her." He shouted something faint to her ears.

"Hello. Who is this?"

"Asuka Langley-Sohryu."

"Ah." She switched over to Japanese, apparently due to her name. "Is this a call about my research in Metaphysical Biology? I know the science is very popular in Japan, but...I've distanced myself from that recently."

"Not exactly...I heard that you knew my mom and her first husband when you were kids, and I was wondering about their child."

"A Langley or a Sohryu? I don't recognize either name. Do you have names?"

"Harry Potter."

"Oh!" She was silent for a moment. "Yes, I remember him. He died in '03."

"Well...he's doing surprisingly well for being dead."

She was quiet. "You mean...that man...argh! He made me mourn his death! And he's been fine the whole time?" Apparently she didn't find him coming back from the dead surprising. Whoops.

"He was only revived a month or so ago."

"Well...he still could've said hello! Gah!" She took a deep breath. "So I assume you're asking about Anwen."

"Anwen?"

"Anwen Potter. His daughter, would be your...half-sister, I gather. If you're curious about her location, I haven't the slightest. She disappeared with your mother when Harry died. How is she, by the way?"

"She's...she's fine."

"Hmm. Well, in case you're curious, Anwen looked essentially nothing like Harry. She was a red-head, like Harry's mom, but she got a vaguely Japanese appearance from your mom."

"Hmm. Well, thank you."

"No problem. Good luck finding her. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Asuka hung up. Something was fishy, and she didn't like it one bit.

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you can't just enter here, you aren't a Nerv Employee."

"I'm the head of Project M. Let me through, or..." her lips were tightly pursed. "I'll make you."

The guard typed a bit, then nodded. "Oh...uh...welcome, ma'am."

"That's doctor, to you."

Gendo paused the live camera feed. "Good luck."

Harry's feet felt heavy as he walked away. _Idontwannadie_!

A minute latter, and there she was. "H-hey, Hermione."

She pivoted, revealing dangerously bright eyes. "Harry. It's been a while."

"Indeed, 'Mione."

"Hun, c'mere. I found _him_."

"Ron...hey."

"Harry! So you're alive, mate!" He paused, glancing around the room. "And in the middle of things, as always."

There was silence, before Harry started laughing, and he couldn't stop. He was probably sobbing, if he had to guess.

"Ron-" he said, struggling to speak. "-you haven't changed one bit."

"Did you expect him to?"

"No, I suppose not."

* * *

They were in a top-security room. They _were_ pretty important people. "How's the Project going, Harry?"

"Well. Only a few months, and...all will be fixed."

"It wasn't your fault, you know."

"Anyway, how'd you find me?"

"Your daughter was as subtle as a bull in a china shop. Well, I assume she's Anwen."

"Yup...she has no idea, or at least not much of one. She still thinks her father was a German bureaucrat. That girl looks as German as I do."

"Wouldn't she have been raised knowing? I mean, you would return at some point, even if it was in Complementation."

He slid a death notice across the table - he couldn't say it aloud.

"Harry...Merlin...I'm sorry, mate."

Harry smiled softly, putting away his lost Lenore back into his files. "She isn't totally dead. Remember Project E?"

"The Evangelions? You don't mean-"

"Eva-02. A large portion of her soul was absorbed into the Evangelion, leaving her body insane."

"Christ..." the woman lapsed into the cursing she had usually suppressed since childhood.

"That's a pretty accurate summary, all things considered. Sacrifice, a body serving mostly as a burden to loved ones...At least Yui was pulled in body and soul, so she didn't hang herself."

Ron just reached into his bag, pulled out some firewhiskey, and poured a glass for each of the three. "And this is where we add alcohol to the conversation."

They clinked the glasses together and let reality drift away. "To days past."

* * *

"To Harry!"

A man with an unflattering beard pulled out a chair from the bar. "Cheers."

Harry looked over. "Rokubungi. What're you doing here?"

"It's Ikari, actually."

"You got married? Poor Yui."

The man scoffed. "What woman wouldn't want to marry me?"

"My point."

"Anyway, I need you...well, more your organization's help."

"As in the Department of Mysteries?"

He nodded. "Have you ever heard of the Absolute Terror Field?"

* * *

 **'Sup? So, if you've made it this far through the discombobulated mess above, I'm happy. That means you like my writing enough. Anyway, so yeah. Harry is Asuka's real dad. Now, I know he seems a bit too...not like a normal NGE character (read: messed up to kingdom come). Just you wait. I hinted at it above, and it'll become more obvious in a dramatically ironic fashion next chapter. I've also got a brief piece from later in the story, probably the last or second-to-last chapter, that makes it quite clear, along with some notes I've put together mostly for myself, that I'll send over to anyone who wants it. (ALLDACOMMAS) The title of the piece is _Seven (One)_ , in case you're curious. Thanks for reading, all you 170 people! That's pretty good for a section with two active fics, including this one.**


	3. Destruction (FINAL: Nama)

"Miss Langley-Sohryu, could you do me a favor?"

"What is it?"

"I'm taking a trip to see if anything is left at Gehrin-London, and some of the doors are coded so myself and your mother, or one of her defendants, could get in."

"Why would it be like that?"

"Magic can do many...bad things. Like cause you to control people like puppets. We had to have incredibly high security."

"Oh...well, I guess. Could you..." The girl was clearly mustering up the courage to ask about her mother. "Could you show me where she worked?"

Harry grinned. "Of course." He pulled out his wand. "Grab my hand, and hold on tight. This...won't be fun."

He cast a quick bubble-head charm about his daughter's head, then apparated about halfway around the Earth - well, technically speaking, he teleported through, as it was shorter - straight into the former Department of Mysteries. "Tada!"

"Woah...we're underwater?"

"Mm. This would've been where they found my body."

She looked around. "You were in here for years and you survived anyway?"

Harry shrugged. "It's magic."

She was silent for a minute. "So, what did my mom do here?"

"She was second-in-command of Project M."

"I've heard that before...wasn't that what Dr. Weasley lead?"

"Yup. Just like Hakone's chief job was to build the Evas, Project E, even if we didn't tell anyone, London's was the other part of the equation, piloting. You know that arbitrary-seeming sync scale? Your mom made that."

"So it isn't actually arbitrary?"

"No, it's arbitrary." He grinned. "The fancy title of Gehrin-London Commander really just meant I organized things. I have no idea what half of the things discovered here mean, to be honest." He shifted to a mock-whisper. "Don't tell anyone, but I don't even have a Meta-Bio degree." She smiled, before they continued on. "You know how Nerv has Terminal Dogma? Well," he gestured in his best impression of a stage performer, "welcome to London's - the Chamber of Death." He stretched wide his hands, and the room glowed green for a moment. "Copy me."

She did, resulting in a maroon glow. "Christmasy."

"Mm. Yuletide - darkest time of the year. Your mom thought it poetic." He pulled open a door that wasn't there a minute ago, which revealed the ancient room.

"Woah..."

"That's the common response, yes. This room was actually built over two thousand years ago, by the Romans. Before, it was a sacred Celtic shrine - a place of sacrifice."

"Sacrifice...?"

"You see those tattered fabrics hanging from the arch? To the Celts, we believe, they appeared as but mist."

"Why?"

"It symbolized passing into the void. That gate destroys your soul instantly."

" _Mien_ _Gott_...how?"

"No idea - that's why it's all the way down here."

"Did..." she broke off, clearly knowing a sensitive topic when she saw one.

"Did I lose anyone to it? Yes, I did." He paused, lost in memory. "Sirius Black...my godfather. Poor man was convicted of crimes he didn't commit; jailed in a prison where the guards fed on you being miserable; escaped, just to be trapped for his own safety, then finally dying through the Veil." He looked at it. "What an end...his soul was violated in such a horrible way."

"Mr. Potter..." she looked up, her face unusually morose, "I'm sorry that had to happen to you..."

He smiled. "Thank you. But let's move on."

* * *

"How was your quest to England?"

"Mm...it was fine. Seeing where my mom worked was interesting."

"Did you enjoy spending time with Mr. Potter over there?" She motioned with her head at the nearby apartment of said man.

"Ew! No! He could be my dad! That'd be..." she struggled for an appropriate analogy. "...like you dating Commander Ikari!"

Her face scrunched up. _Score_! "You're right..." then it softened. "...that man is soooo handsome."

Shinji came in, breaking the silence. "Misato?"

"Yeah, Shinji? You need any help?"

"No, I'm fine...just, please, please never say anything like that again."

* * *

"Sir, Ma'am, I just got the ultrasounds back. You're going to be having a daughter soon."

"See, I told you!"

"Yes, yes, you're right," Harry acquiesced. "I never should have doubted you."

"You never should have, no." Harry absently wondered if she was using her pregnancy simply as an excuse to be argumentative. 'Cause she was, all the time. Of course, being the vague interest in self-preservation oriented person he was, he allocated quite a bit of his consciousness to making sure that he didn't ever even suggest such a thought crossing his mind.

"So...names..."

"Mm," Harry agreed. "Here." He handed over a book of names he accioed from the shelf as they left the barracks. Ah, foresight.

He was rewarded with a radiant smile. "Thanks!" She flipped it open. "Hmm. An English name, definitely..."

Harry quirked his head. "Why?"

"Well, she's going to be the most famous Englishwoman ever!"

Harry looked out the window at Hadrian's wall. "Methinks she might be the last Englishwoman ever."

She swatted his arm. "Don't be like that!" She turned back to the book, her eyes scanning pages faster than Harry could say "Hey, stop flipping for a second!"

Her eyes paused about halfway through the "A" section. "How about Ann?"

Harry bit his lip. "It's a nice name, but it was my great-aunt's, I think."

"Really? Hmm, that's out, I guess..."

"What about this one?" the ultrasound technician, who had evidently wandered back into the lobby - it wasn't a particularly busy job, just a crucial one when it was needed - pointed at one from above.

"Anwen..." Harry rolled it around in his mouth.

"I like it!"

* * *

Misato Katsuragi was slinking about the halls of Nerv, as she had a tendency to do, when she heard an unusual sound from the Eva docking bay. _Someone's_ _in_ \- She took off, not even bothering to complete her sentence, while still doing her best to mask her presence.

She came to one of the doorways before long. It was wide open. A few deep breaths, then she braved a glance inside.

EVA-02 was standing by, eerily similar in position to EVA-01 when Shinji first came. This would be perfectly normal except for the individual sitting before it. It almost seemed like he was leaning on it - but why would he? And the person was a he, Misato was sure. It just felt right, and she had gotten this far on her instincts and training. As he seemed entirely still, except for making one sound that she couldn't quite place, she stepped in, coming closer to the man.

Suddenly, she recognized him. _Harry Potter! What? Why?_ And then, in a jump of realization, she identified the sound. For the last six months before she was released, it was her constant companion - _gah_! She shook her head to purge the memories. Nevertheless, it was obvious.

Harry James Potter was sobbing.

"Why...?" Her voice was barely louder than a feather impacting the ground. He didn't react.

He kept sobbing. Misato began to feel queasy, watching the obviously pained man until he abruptly quieted. "Just a little bit longer, a little bit longer, a little bit longer. A little bit longer! And then!" He stood, his emerald eyes piercing the darkness, as if they radiated their own light. Indeed, thought Misato, they might. "We'll be free. Safe, and free!" He turned back towards the synthetic lifeform. "Together! Everybody!"

Misato ran. She would come into work the next day barely awake, and her continuous falling asleep would push Nerv defense construction back thirteen minutes and fifty-four seconds. She'd make it up that night. She didn't want to sleep.

* * *

"Kaji..."

The man turned to her with that infernal smirk. "What's up, Misato?"

Misato breathed, before flicking her eyes towards the former Gehrin commander.

A raised eyebrow was her response. Misato bit her lip, before speaking aloud. "Could you drive me to my apartment? I'm tired, and I don't want to fall asleep at the wheel."

He acquiesced, and soon they were on the road. "What is it?"

"Harry Potter."

"What about him?"

Slowly, she told the story of the previous night, what she'd seen.

"Well...there's a reason for that, I think. Do you know how his wife died?"

Misato nodded. "She hung herself, right?"

"Yup. It...you know how each pilot has an associated core?"

"You mean, for the Evas?" He nodded. "Yes?"

"Asuka's core became how it was before she'd ever entered the Eva. It was during the second Contact Experiment."

"What do you mean?"

"You know how the sync process works, right?"

"Generally speaking - the nerve impulses are routed to the pilot's brain, and vice versa."

"Not quite. It also requires...a certain yearning, on the soul level, apparently."

"A yearning?"

"From a child to a mother."

"You don't mean-"

"If my theory is right, Kyoko Sohryu is in Unit-02."

"And that would explain why he seemed so attached. But...what was he talking about, that would be 'a little bit longer'?"

"If it is what I think it is," he breathed, "then we should all be afraid."

"Afraid? Why?"

His face was solemn, not betraying a hint of what the man was thinking. "Instrumentality."

* * *

"We're detecting something over Tokyo-3!"

"What? It wasn't there a second ago!"

Harry looked over at Gendo Ikari. "Leliel has arrived."

"Mm. The Angel of Night."

Harry laughed. "Imagine if that began Third Impact."

Fuyutsuki released a rare snort. "That, honestly, would be quite amusing."

"What would they do all day? I mean, take Sachiel. They'd walk around, go swimming, blow up ancient Lilin structures. But Leliel?"

Gendo's expression didn't change a bit. "The world would be a giant pinball machine, I imagine." There was a brief, incredibly awkward silence.

"You know, Gendo, I think that's the funniest thing you've ever said, while sober at least."

"You aren't ever going to let him live that down, are you?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Will you, professor?"

"Fair point."

There was a brief silence. "So, professor, anything interesting happen recently?"

"First Lieutenant Ibuki seems to think you're secretly part of the Illuminati, or so I've heard."

"Little ol' _me_?"

"You do realize you've done less than Ryoji Kaji, at least in their eyes."

Harry winced. "Ouch...but it's true."

"Isn't there an English saying about that?"

"The truth does hurt, yes. Hmm...how to repair my reputation...?"

There was a few minutes of silence, before Harry's eyes brightened. "I got it." He gave a casual salute. "See ya!"

As he walked out, he heard Gendo mutter, "That man. He knows our culture, but couldn't care less." The man got a stuck out tongue in response.

* * *

"How are the Evas, Major?"

"Sir!" She turned, evidently surprised. "Not well. We've retreated Unit-00 and 02. The Angel swallowed 01."

"Swallowed?" He wasn't _supposed_ to know the Angel.

"Yes, sir," spoke Akagi. "The real Angel is the shadow - it has an inverted AT Field. This creates a extra-dimensional space."

"A Sea of Dirac." He quirked his head. "It's one thing to see the math, but seeing it in real life is something else."

"I wish I could share your serenity, sir. But 01 is still in there, along with the Third Child."

"What's your plan, Major?"

"The other units could be used to neutralize the Angel's field." She paused. "If that fails, an all out N2 bombing into the Angel may be the only way."

"Which would kill the pilot, and most likely destroy the Eva. I see your dilemma. Have you tried the Q5 bomb?"

"Q5?"

He clapped his hands together, grinning. "The Pride of Gehrin-London!"

"Come again?"

He pulled a pouch from his invisibility cloak - which, apparently, could be made to just make itself invisible - and handed it over. "A Q5 bomb. If memory serves, it stands for 'Quietly, quaint Quakers quack quickly.' I don't name these things," he added at the odd stares. "We hired the entirely wrong person to do so, in fact. Anyway, it has the ability to instantly neutralize any AT Field."

Misato blinked. "Then, Sir, why don't we use them?"

"That's why." He pointed at the pouch, which was twitching. Then it fell apart, along with a straight, thin line down. And a rock fell. "Thank you for losing my rock. They're a pain to make, and must be focused on to make sure they stay."

Akagi looked confused. "How does that work?"

Harry shrugged. "No idea. Hermione would know, though."

* * *

"Nice job, Harry."

"Oh, be quiet, professor."

* * *

It happened one day that one Langley happened to visit Nerv.

"Good morning, Mr. Langley."

"You." He paused. "I believe you are supposed to refer to me as sir."

"Not so. Technically speaking, Gehrin-London was never shut down. It simply drowned."

The man's teeth-grating was obvious. So Harry decided to add insult to injury.

He turned to Gendo. "May I?"

"Go ahead." Nobody liked the guy.

Harry socked him in the face.

The man cursed. "What was that for?"

Harry put his hand to his chin. "Let me see...blackmailing my wife, using my wife, cheating on my wife, arguably killing my wife..."

"What!"

"And don't get me started on what you did to my daughter."

"You're the one who died!"

"And you're the one who lived."

* * *

"That was cathartic."

"Mr. Potter..."

"Oh! Miss Langley-Sohryu, I had no idea you were there." A lie, of course. "You know, you shouldn't eavesdrop."

He got a glare in response. "You were talking about my mom."

"Yup." He shrugged. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hate that man. Passionately."

She was silent. "You mentioned, a while back, that with my ancestry, magical ability was unsurprising. Does that mean my father has magic?"

"It does not, as he doesn't. I imagine that is one of the chief reasons he hates me."

Her brow was scrunched up, a look of confusion displayed across her face. "Why? That makes no sense."

"Envy is a powerful force." He waved his hand, causing a rainbow to appear. "I can bend reality with ease. His reality-bending requires extraordinary amounts of money and time. An Eva," he clarified.

She seemed to contemplate it, her demeanor still betraying no information she didn't want it to.

"But you don't use your magic much. How would he know what you can do?"

"I used to...be very well known. This was before you were born. I was, I still am ridiculously powerful. Among wizards, I was little less than a messiah. I was the Chosen One, the Boy-who-Lived, the deliverer of Britain...and yet I hadn't worked for that, or so it seemed. Anybody as affluent as him knew of my story, and many were envious. Then, when the UN got behind my Department..." he waved his hands, the continuity of exposition being unnecessary.

Asuka nodded, before she was silent for a moment. Harry contemplated the fact that if he hadn't read her psych file, then he, _her own father_ , couldn't read her. Before the thought overwhelmed, he gave the girl an acknowledging blink, before pivoting and walking away.

* * *

"Ah, beer. The sweet nectar of the gods!"

"You know, Misato, you literally have not changed a bit since college."

"That's not true! I'm not dating that pain any more." She gestured over her shoulder at the UN employee sitting to her other side.

"That's debatable..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Anyway, does that man, Potter, ever seem suspicious to you?"

"Heh, I think it's more about when he doesn't. We know like squat about him."

"He's a veteran, didja know that?"

"Of war?"

"No, of working in a candy factory."

"Oh...why is that important?"

"I was being sarcastic!"

"Oh...so he was a veteran of war?"

"Yes."

"Of what war? The Impact Wars?"

"Nope, pre-Impact. Apparently, he fought in a resistance effort against terroristic rule in England."

"Terroristic rule?" chimed in Kaji. "I don't remember ever hearing about that in England."

"Mm. That was the thing. Y'know how he can do all that...magic? Apparently there was a whole magical war in England, and he basically singlehandedly beat the leader of the terrorists."

"He doesn't look like a combat type..."

"To be fair, he's been dead for nigh on a decade."

"Dead?"

"Dead. Apparently he's died like three or four times."

"That would make someone crazy..."

"What do you mean?"

Misato recounted the whole event with Unit-02. "It was...creepy."

"Yeah...I wonder why he did that."

* * *

"Howdy, Shinji."

"Mr. Potter? Good morning."

"Morning. How are you doing?" Shinji shrugged. "I have a question, if you don't mind - consider it scientific curiosity. What does it feel like to be synced with Unit-01?"

Shinji blinked. "Well...kinda cold."

"Cold?"

"The Eva is really cold."

"I suppose that makes sense, it's the size of a skyscraper. Remind me to get Unit-01 a blanket, will you?" He grinned, and as for the boy, while he didn't smile, his eyes brightened a shade. _Poor child. Gendo..._ "Anything else?"

"Hmm...familiar. I-it doesn't make sense, really, but it feels kinda like home. More like home than Misato's, to be frank."

Harry nodded. "I hoped as much."

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

A silence passed between the two. "Mr. Potter?"

"Yes?"

"Are you and my father really friends?"

Harry stared for a good long while. "That's an excellent question, Shinji. We're...too similar to be anything else, but yet..." He drifted off, not answering the question in full. "What do you think, Shinji? Do you think your father and myself are friends?"

"I...don't know. I don't understand my father."

"Unfortunately, Shinji. Unfortunately."

* * *

 **And...cut! So, not much plot happened here, obviously. The vast majority of this was dialogue, mostly because it's all character interaction. I'm not a fan of the dialogue/not-dialogue ratio, but I can edit that later. Anyway, I did lay down the foundation for the rest of the (whatever is there) plot. Anyway, please try to guess Harry's goal, and why. To me, it's obvious, but...I'm the author, so I already know what's going to happen, and what they're thinking, and all. Since this is such a character-oriented story, I want to make sure the characters make sense.**

 **...I just realized Pen-Pen hasn't appeared in the story once...Idea! Muahahaha...**


	4. Revelations (FINAL: Preservations)

Harry scrambled up on top of Unit-01, which had finished chowing down on Zeruel not even a full day before. "Hey, Yui." He opened a bag he brought with him, revealing some chips. "Hungry?"

He wasn't totally sure why he was talking to Yui so spontaneously. Gendo did, all the time, but Harry mostly talked to his own wife. He shrugged at the thought. "No, I suppose not. An S2 Engine? Clever as always. You two were always alike that way."

Harry leaned back on the pylon marking the shoulder of the giant purple incarnation of his friend. At least, more of a friend than Gendo. "Your son is being all but tortured. Why don't you do something?" Harry sighed. It was a rhetorical question, and Yui wouldn't have answered even if it was. Letting the salt of the as of yet uneaten chips refocus his mind, he gazed at the roof of the EVA hanger. "Twelve down. What do you think I should do? You read the Scrolls. You know what's next..."

He clapped his hands together, brushing off any remaining salt. He'd eaten the rest without paying attention. Pity. He slid down the metal-covered beast with a fraction of the grace he had as a teen, and inclined his head toward Unit-01. "Later, Yui."

* * *

"Yui, Gendo, glad you could make it."

The woman flashed a winning smile. "'Course! We wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"...your energy never ceases to amaze me, Yui. Especially compared to Mr. Tall, Dark, and Drunky over here."

"Gah!" The man through his hands up in the air. "Will I ever live that down?"

"No, honey. He'll persist until he dies, and we all know how well that works."

"You had me down for ten whole minutes. Even Moldyshorts only achieved five, and he used a AK. You should feel proud."

"Not helping, Harry." Harry stuck out his tongue in response. "So where's Anwen?"

"With her mother."

"Who is...where?"

"Oh, near here, I'd imagine."

"Harry?"

"Yes, Yui?"

"Immortality means I can torture you as much as I want and you won't die from it."

The triumvirate of parents were silent for a while, before Harry put his hand on Gendo's shoulder. "Good luck, man. You'll need it. Anyway," Harry brought the conversation on topic again, "follow me."

He led them through a few old Ministry tunnels, before finally arriving where everyone else was. "So, Harry, how exactly do you magicals do this?"

"Christenings? We steal the blood of the guests to strengthen the child's magic."

"Really?"

"No, we aren't sociopaths, just a bit nutty. 'Cept Moldyshorts, but he's the exception, not the norm. Anyway, you two stand to her east, and you'll know the rest when it's time."

"The east? Why?"

"Traditionally, the father stood at the north, the mother at the south, and godparents to the east and west. One godparent was supposed to be from the east of where the baby was born, and the other from the west. My godfather lived in London, so he was at the east, for example." He raised a hand. "Yes, yes, I know, go west enough and you'll find Japan. Magic's a stickler for tradition, unfortunately."

"Why is that? It's completely against science."

"You're building a one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater. I don't think you have room to talk." He waved off the conversation. "Get to your position, the others will be done the preemptive rituals soon, which do in fact involve a bit of blood."

About half a minute later, a short procession entered, led by a pensive Hermione Weasley. "So these are the Ikaris, Harry?"

"Mhm. Would have been singular Ikari, but the former Rokubungi over here," he pointed over his shoulder at the man, "apparently has no respect for bureaucracy."

"Do you have a flippant remark for every single circumstance?"

"Would you rather I have a pessimistic remark for every circumstance?"

"Point taken."

Further conversation was interrupted by a young redhead. "We should probably get started."

* * *

"The MAGI have confirmed - it's the fifteenth Angel!"

"The Angel of Birds. Arael." Harry stood to the left of Gendo Ikari, his posture a mirror of Kozo's.

"Indeed. What will you do, Potter?"

Harry closed his eyes, and sighed. "What will I do, indeed."

"I'm detecting a large power build-up in the Angel!"

"Asuka! Get out of there!"

The message was too little, too late. " _Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah, hallelujah..."_

"My mind! It's invading my mind!" The girl screamed, a sound that seemed to be less from the bridge's speakers and more from the very air that surrounded Harry. He didn't move a muscle.

"Agh!" She was sobbing now. "Stop! Please! Help! Someone! Mama!"

A whisper came from the girl's father. "Arael, you..." He broke off, abandoning the statement. "Gendo..."

"What?"

Harry breathed in. "Do it."

"You don't mean...?" The man was quirking his eyebrow, almost amused.

"Yes. The Lance...go ahead."

The twitch of Gendo's eyebrows revealed to anyone who really knew him that he was smirking. "Rei?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Go to Terminal Dogma. Get the Lance."

"Yes, sir."

The girl disappeared into an EVA elevator, and headed down to the deepest levels of Nerv-HQ.

A minute had passed, and the girl hadn't yet returned. She was taking far too long. "You're enjoying this, aren't you, Ikari?"

"Immensely."

"Forgive me for not being a sociopath."

" _Hallelujah_!"

Asuka had long since run dry of tears. Somehow, that helped Harry watch. She simply looked pained. The sound was a different story. "Agh! Mama! Help! Helphelphelpmama!" And then she went silent. Eerily silent.

"Her psychographs! They've froze!"

"Froze? Impossible! You're sure she isn't flatlining?"

"The MAGI confirm it! Balthazar recommends immediate action to get her out of range!"

"Absolutely not. Where is the First?" Ikari.

"Inbound. T minus forty-five seconds."

And then Asuka spoke. " _Papa_! Father! Why? Why? Help!"

Harry breathed slowly, trying to ignore Asuka's revelation.

"'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" quoted Fuyutsuki. "'Oh my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.'"

"'From you comes my praise in the great congregation...' Psalm Twenty-two." Harry breathed. "Thank you for the reminder, Professor." His eyes focused on the command center below. "Time left?"

"T minus two seconds. Pilot, prepare to shift into aim mode."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Unit-00 is ready, sir!"

"You may launch when ready."

"Three...two...one...launch!"

The Lance cut through the air like so many arrows. " _Avada...Kedavra_..."

And thus the Angel was slain.

* * *

"We've got the Second Child."

"Bring her in."

"She won't cooperate, ma'am. She's screaming angrily for her father."

"Then-"

"No. I'll deal with it," Harry interrupted. With a spin, he apparated the short distance upwards to where Unit-02 sat.

"He's here! Right here!" he heard his daughter scream.

Schooling his expressions, he stepped past the various Nerv employees. There she was. Her hair was pristine, her plugsuit still compressed. But her face - her face was a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot, red as the dawn, and her face covered with remnants of tears.

"A-a-Anwen..."

He barely saw her hand swing towards his face. In fact, seeing as it was magic that hit him, he didn't see it at all.

"Y-you...you..."

A moment passed. "Anwen..."

"Don't call me that. I'm Asuka. Leave me alone."

* * *

"Harry Potter."

"Chairman."

"You have heinously jeopardized our plans for Complementation, simply to let one individual escape temporary pain. Pain that they would no longer feel."

"Chairman, the Lance was their only possibility for defeating the Fifteenth Angel."

"Nerv has come to more desperate straits, and has not needed the Lance."

"However, the light of Arael's soul was brighter than any yet before. It was nearly as bright as Lilith's."

"And your own?"

"And my own."

* * *

"Well met by moonlight, Tabris."

The boy smiled absently, gazing at said celestial body. "You Lilim ascribe such significance to a simple celestial body."

"Our Mother formed that body, however inadvertently."

"Yes. Taking my Father's rightful land in the process."

"Is that what this war really comes down to? A crusade, but with giant robots?"

Tabris laughed. "Is it indeed. And will the crusaders be granted their remission of sin?"

A long silence passed between them. "You intend to befriend the Third, don't you?"

"Shinji Ikari...yes."

"Will any of you children find happiness in this life?"

"Will we?" The boy stared the older man straight in the eyes. "I doubt it, Harry Potter. I sincerely doubt it."

* * *

"Anwen...just a little bit longer. It'll be okay in just a few more days."

Harry blinked away a couple of tears. "Just a few."

Silence reigned for a few minutes, before the door opened softly.

"Shinji Ikari."

He was still for a while. "Why didn't you save her?"

"I couldn't."

He sat down, staring at the orange-haired girl. "You can use magic."

"I couldn't."

Each breath of the boy shivered with barely concealed emotion. "Asuka..."

Harry stood, and stepped out of the room. It was almost time.

* * *

"My love..." Harry smiled brightly at the blood red Evangelion before him. "Anwen...hurts. You know she does. But it's finally time! She won't have to feel pain any longer! We'll be together, all three of us! And Mom, and Dad, and Sirius, and...everyone!" His heart soared. The joy felt more magical than even the magic he'd used for so long.

* * *

"Potter."

"I assume the JSSDF has begun their attack?"

"Did we not win any sympathy with Seele for defeating the Angels?"

"Did you expect any?"

"Fair enough."

They sat in a silence punctuated by periodic gunshots. "Tokyo-3. The Fortress City. It's a pity to see it reduced to such a state."

"Only due to your men."

"Hmm. Or only due to your resistance, I wonder."

In an eerie display of synchronicity, Harry and Gendo rose to their feet. "Our wives were friends. How ironic we should be enemies."

"How ironic indeed." Ikari was silent for a moment. "If it is any consolation, your daughter will be kept safe."

Harry blinked slowly. "Thank you. If it is any consolation, I won't intervene in any attack on the Eva Series." He was silent for a while. "Goodbye. May we meet again in Complementation."

"Goodbye, Harry Potter."

* * *

Harry gazed out over the lake that acted as a shield for his daughter. He raised his hand to his ear, muttering a soft spell. Soon, it was as if he was in a room with the rest of the heirs of the Scrolls, acoustically speaking.

"We are ready, Chairman."

"We have not yet seized control of the Evangelions."

"No matter. My daughter is catatonic, the Third is on the brink of suicide, and the Nephillim's Eva is gone."

"That is true. If there are no objections, then we shall dye the Earth red with the juice of the Fruits, with the Blood of the Mother."

There was silence, before a gleeful voice spoke. "There are no objections! We all know. The fate of destruction is the joy of rebirth!"

"Amen."

"Amen."

"Amen!"

"Then, let us begin the ritual."

"We shall drown in life."

"We shall eat of the Fruits."

"We shall be freed by closure."

"We shall be healed of all flaws."

"We shall become one flesh."

"We shall be consecrated to God."

There was a long, long silence before Harry spoke. "We shall finally be forgiven."

"Amen."

"Amen."

"Amen!"

"Let the Sacrament of the Red Earth begin!"

* * *

Asuka fought. She fought valiantly. But the Fate of Destruction would not be denied.

"The Eva Series is entering position. Soon, we shall reform the Tree of Life, and all souls shall return home." He reported as he saw. Such was his responsibility.

Out of the blue, he felt a disturbance. "No..." His blood ran cold. "Ikari! He's awakened Lilith! She's been merged with Adam, I can feel it!"

"No! The ritual! Not now, they will follow Lilith over us!"

"Indeed. All we can do is hope we are destined for Complementation."

* * *

Bones lay about like leaves in the fall. Flesh was scattered like dew in the morning. Unit-01 had become God.

"I-I failed." The giant red beast made no attempts at response. "It's all in Shinji's hands now."

The Entry Plug sat amongst the fleshy wreckage, leaking the blood of Lilith. Scrambling over to it, he pulled it open to reveal the girl inside. She was unconscious.

"Oh...my baby girl, my darling girl...I'm sorry..."

The girl offered no response.

"I-I just wanted us all to be happy...to never be alone..."

The girl offered no response. Having picked her up - she was as light as a feather - Harry proceeded to climb back to the top of the heap that had once housed his wife's soul.

"'God lay dead in heaven; Angels sang the hymn of the end...' How appropriate. What did Tabris call art? The greatest achievement of the Lilim? And I wanted to destroy that. A static, endless darkness. I'm a truly horrible person, aren't I, Anwen?"

The girl offered no response.

Harry looked up at the Tree. A giant Tabris leaned out of the back of Lilith. He spoke something, then anyone with any capability to sense Absolute Terror knew what was going on. Harry, being one of these, smiled softly in realization. "Don't worry, my darling girl. Yui had this planned from the very beginning. I suppose I should have trusted her to do a good job."

He stared at the giant purple beast. "Thank you, Yui." He raised his hand in the ancient Seele salute. "Godspeed."

* * *

 **Almost done! Just Instrumentality left. I've already started writing that, and it'll probably be fairly short, a thousand words or so. This is 2000-2500, I think. I know this seemed fast, but that was the point. Everything was smooth sailing, time was flying, then BOOM! Everything fell apart. Then Instrumentality. Instrumentality will be trippy, let me tell you. If Postmodernism isn't your thing, you can stop here.**

 **Yay, you didn't! Well then, Instrumentality. It'll be a lot like EoTV, due to my preference for that ending. See ya soon!**


	5. D'etre (ONE MORE FINAL: I Need You)

Harry Potter.

"That's me."

Harry Potter.

"That's me."

Harry Potter. There was a long silence. What do you want?

"I-"

No. What do you want?

You.

What do you want?

You.

You want a lot of things.

What is the deepest desire of your heart?

What makes you soar with joy, fly above despair and mortal chains?

What is the deepest desire of your heart?

Unfortunately, we haven't time to explore. A child you already know, a Child you already know, will soon see joy, will soon learn to love himself. In that time, we can only explore the burdens of one single individual; one manifestation of joy, despair, life, death, trust, loneliness; one soul. You call him a character.

What makes you a character, Harry Potter? What makes you a manifestation of imagination, a puppet of one as fallible as yourself?

"I'm not a puppet."

What makes you a character, Harry Potter?

"I'm not a puppet."

What makes you a character?

"I'm driven by my flaws! My destiny was set!"

So you're a human?

"No! I'm scum, who let his own daughter be tortured!"

So you're a human?

"No! I'm scum, who wanted to kill for the sake of life!"

So you built Eva.

"Yes...Eva was my puppet."

So you built Eva.

"Yes...Eva was driven by my flaws."

So you built Eva.

"Yes...Eva was set in its destiny."

* * *

"Harry Potter."

"Anwen!"

Then the girl stood before him, a bright smile piercing her features. She was smiling, so brightly.

"I'm home!"

"Daddy!"

The little child ran up, her arms clasping around his leg. "Hey, baby girl. How are you?"

"Daddy!"

"Ah. Yeah, that's life. You hungry?"

She nodded emphatically. "Daddy."

He grabbed her under her armpits, lifting the girl into his arms. "Where's your mama?"

The little girl, eyes dancing with innocence, pursed her lips. "Mama?"

"Mama."

"Mamamamamama."

Harry grinned. "Mama. Mama mama ma mama."

"Mama."

"Eloquent, Potter." Harry turned to see his bushy-haired all-but-sister come through a doorway.

"Hey, 'Mione. What're you doing here?"

"Me? Watching Anwen, what do you think?"

"Oh, so she asked you to watch her?"

Then reality swam before Harry. Or Instrumentality. Whatever. Anyway, it swam.

"I did."

Harry's eyes snapped wide. "You're here!"

"Of course. That is the purpose of Complementation."

Harry barked out a rather coarse laugh. "That's true. A Complementation I shouldn't have wanted."

"No. You didn't need to want it."

"But so many! So many."

"Yes, so many."

Dad.

Mom.

Sirius.

Faces flashed through his consciousness like electricity on the neurons of the brain.

Anwen.

"And, of course, me." She stared him in the eyes, meeting the eyes that he was always told were his mother's.

"I only ever brought death, didn't I."

"We sat in the Chamber of Guf for millennia. We yearned for life. With life, death. Don't despair."

"Preemptive death, then. I'm practically a murderer."

"Nonsense. We loved you. We brought death on ourselves."

"If I wasn't here, you wouldn't have loved me."

"Look at the Angels. They cannot love, not even Tabris."

"And they died."

"They challenged the Lilim."

"And lost."

"They, who couldn't love, fought those who did. They had lost from the beginning."

"They nearly killed us several times."

"But we had love. Did you forget what saved you from your soul's destruction?"

He was quiet for a while. "Love."

She smiled. "Love. The Power Voldemort knew not...others will always love you. I would know."

Harry smiled back. "Mom never truly died, did she?"

"I died. Did I?"

"I died. I didn't."

"Exactly. Live and let live."

"Love and let love?"

The two smiled widely. As bright as they smiled, the room itself brightened.

They were all there. Mom, Dad...

Anwen was in front. She ran up to him, and grabbed him around the waist. "Hey, Daddy."

He rubbed orange hair the same shade as his mother's. It was particularly obvious because said mother was right next to her. "Hey, baby girl."

He felt a hand on his shoulder then, and looked towards the source. A mirror image smiled back. Without a thought, he pulled his father into the hug. Mom joined the hug but moments later.

After either a second or an hour, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned, and his wife smiled back.

"It's time."

He grabbed the hands of the two women he held most precious, and stepped through Instrumentality.

"...I wish to stay here! I can stay here!"

The three of them began to clap. So did everyone else around them, everyone who'd been part of the Third's journey. "Congratulations!"

"Congratulations!"

The boy's eyes danced with untold joy. He'd found his home, Harry knew. Shinji Ikari smiled. "Thank you, everybody!"

Harry looked off into the horizon, before pulling his wife and child closer.

* * *

 **And... _fin_. My first completed story I'm actually proud of. I loved writing this. It flowed out of my hand incredibly easily. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed reading this. I intend to go back to SSMIF now, but I can't escape this headcannon, so I think I'm going to write an alternate, more fun version where Harry doesn't temporarily bite the dust. Or support Seele. In other words, functional!Most people. Yui was legitimately my favorite character to write, so she won't be dead...**

 **Anyway, please tell me what you thought! I want to know if this was as fun to read as it was to write!**


	6. Appendix A

_MAGI Connection: Open. All systems operational._

 _Welcome, GUEST. Today's date is December 31, 2015. The current time is 9:37:05._

 _Enter query:_

 **Genesis**

 _Access Denied. Insufficient credentials._

 _Enter query:_

 **Log In**

 _Username_ :

 **RKaji**

 _Passcode_ :

 **Protoevangelium**

 _Welcome, Ryoji Kaji._

 _Enter query:_

 **Genesis**

 _Genesis fetched. Print? (Y OR N)_

 **Y**

 _On the Creation_

 _BY: Akagi Naoko_

ABSTRACT:

Subject ADAM has been determined to have existed within the modern-day Oort Cloud region for over six billion years. No conclusive statement has been made on the WHITE MOON's influence on the conception of the Sol System, but the JUDGES are in unanimous agreement that evidence points towards there being some effect thereof.

At some point after Earth was formed, the WHITE MOON imbedded itself in the center of the continent of Antarctica. In all likelihood, this was for the purpose of injecting liquid iron into the fledgling planet's core, allowing for a magnetosphere to stabilize the planet. Why is unknown. Not long after, for unknown reasons, the BLACK MOON - holding subject LILITH - crashed into Earth. This event is referred to as FIRST IMPACT. In this event, the LANCE OF LONGINUS belonging to LILITH was destroyed. To prevent the union of the SUPER SOLENOID ENGINE (also known as the FRUIT OF LIFE) and the [Corrupted] (also known as the FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE), the LANCE OF LONGINUS belonging to ADAM mobilized to stop ADAM. In doing so, it injured it enough that a unknown small amount of its blood was released into the oceans, where the blood (LCL) of LILITH had already gathered, in an extremely large quantity. (SEE: Biomass Calculations and the Quantities of Correlated LCL) This is believed to be the 'Spark of Life' that brought about the first cell. As such, all life has a minuscule amount of Adamic biomass. From there, the primarily Lilian life evolved in a Darwinian fashion. Curiously, the Adamic biomass provides a beacon, so to speak, for a soul to be released from the Chamber of Guf, and the amount of biomass seems to be a measurement for the presence of the FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE in the lifeform. (SEE: Adamic Biomass and the Fruit of Knowledge)

After the Wiessman Barrier is eclipsed, the Adamic biomass assembles into something that is believed to be a malformed FRUIT OF LIFE, and is found in the telomeres of each cell. In most species, this is such a malformed organ that it simply degrades over time, to a point where motion can not be sustained any longer (that is, death) and eventually the Ego Barrier itself collapses, and the organism reverts to LCL. However, in some organisms - most notably the HIPPOGRIFF ( _Sirius_ _Hypographen_ ) - this is formed enough that random fluctuations in the Ego Barrier occur, allowing for otherwise-impossible feats.

This is found in no organism more than those of the genus Homo. Homo Sapiens Neanderthalus, Homo Sapiens Sapiens, Homo Sapiens Vellus, Homo Sapiens Marinus and Homo Sapiens Equus have such a high presence of Adamic biomass that the compensating FRUIT OF KNOWLEDGE allows for high levels of sentience. In a small population of the second, along with all of the latter three to some degree, the FRUIT OF LIFE is also well-developed enough that it produces enough energy to allow for much manipulation of the Ego Barrier.

 _Continue? (Y OR N)_

 **N**

 _Enter query:_

 **HPotter**

 _HPotter Fetched. Print? (Y OR N)_

 **Y**

On _Harry Potter_

 _BY: Ikari Yui_

ABSTRACT:

Amongst Lilim, Harry James Potter is quite unusual. Even amongst wizards, Harry Potter is quite unusual.

Firstly, Harry Potter is not, strictly speaking, either. Unlike other wizards, his S2 Organ is complete. JUDGES agree on this, though it has been impossible so far to discover what it looks like. Among other things, this means that he is immortal. Like the Angels, nothing less than the Divine Technology can kill him. As the Organ is in his telomeres, rather than a core, there is no weak spot - as long as he has a cell left, he's fine.

Due to this, he is the only being to have ever died, and talked about it afterwards. Much of the discoveries about postmortem AT Field action was discovered firsthand by hi-.

 **^C**

 _Enter query:_

 **Log out**

 _Goodbye, Ryoji Kaji._

* * *

 **Have some exposition. In case it isn't clear from the date, this is set just before 3I when Misato is going all Kusanagi on the world. To summarize, the top is a window into all the worldbuilding I've constructed, mostly in my head (I have answers for all the questions I'm asked, more or less, I just believe there is nothing but the text, which this now is). Second part explains a major part of what messed up Harry to the point where SEELE could convert him. Also, for the non-technically inclined, ^C (Control-C) is the escape for most programs in the command line. Misato is using it here to stop the printing to the screen of Yui's essay.**


End file.
